Ah, the RMR crew is wallowing a lot in Celtic mystique this early 2024. This time it is Drunemeton and their invocation of Tir Nan Og that got our fancy. A theme hinting at the famed pagan otherwordly island paradise, a haven endowed with everlasting youth, beauty, health, abundance, and joy. A place where humans can visit at their own perils only. Because, if you’re not immortal, you’ll pay the price later.
And all that rolls in on quotes from the age-old movie ‘The Wicker Man’ of 1973.1 You’ll hear Sergeant Howie howling while he meets his fiery demise right at the start of the record. A story that – yet again – plays on a Scottish island populated by folks with strange pagan customs. And as with former records, the RMR crew remained a tad mystified about that storyline. Apart from the movie lines, you’ll only find harsh vocals on Tir Nan Og. And even the appearance of The White Ship2 cannot change our bemused expressions as we continue to delve into the harsh hodgepodge of Extreme Metal this record represents.
But mystique aside, Drunemeton greet you with an oldish style of barebone Scandinavian Black Metal. And similar to Félonie, the band elected Bathory as one of their main influences. The record boasts a rich miasma of dystopian tracks that still bear enough melody to keep things kind of interesting.
You’ll hear an impressive array of samples that often make little sense with the vile metal chosen. Meaty riffs and delicate tremolos often lay into the mix with a fearsome vengeance (Underneath the Waves, for instance). The ever-present furious drums try ripping this dreary fabric apart but never quite succeed. Then, suddenly, the haunting sounds of the wooden recorder or Balkan Duduk ring out like one of Lovecraft’s mystical monsters. And all of that rolls in on Grannus‘ gruff doomy croaks. An atypical choice of harsh vocals in a Black Metal setting. But one that works better on Tir Nan Og than the usual high-pitched rasp. This boils down to a hauntingly doomy atmosphere, a feeling of dread and tribulation that descends on the listener like a dark veil of terror.
The lengthy intro finally finished, Tir Nan Og – the title track – supplies some truly vile Black Metal worthy of the best of them. This first track indeed already gets you the gist of where this record is headed. All the other tracks follow in that very same vein with little variation. To the point that this reviewer’s mind kinda switched off after the fourth track or so. There truly is a repetition bug in this record which is a problem. And even the sudden yet short Thrash Metal attack on Haven in Flames cannot eradicate this. Of course, the fact that this style has been around for decades and grew somewhat stale over time won’t help matters either. At all.
But to put a tent around all those red-hot bonfires, Tir Nan Og kept to its dreary colors throughout the length of the record. The album is a tried and true sample of good ol’ Scandinavian Pagan Black Metal with a seriously dreary and doom-laden atmosphere. A frugally skeletal affair that shies away from the often ornamental ways to write blackened metal fare these days. One that speaks of terrible events, real or imagined, and it does so with gusto, unlimited energy, and astute musical prowess.
However, even with all those melodic variations, the artful haunting samples, and the truly archaic energy found, the record couldn’t quite win over those cold metal hearts over at the review desk. The album is prone to endless repetitions and more noodling than is good for it. As is often the case – a serious culling of the tracklist would have worked wonders. And that – together with some seriously brutal self-editing – would have resulted in an utterly different record. Would, but didn’t.
Thus, Tir Nan Og – whilst being a memorable piece of Extreme Metal – won’t survive for very long on our internal playlist. Now, if you’d excuse me, some truly astounding metal beckons us. See you next time around.
Ed’s note: Another slice of feisty BM just arrived here. Meet Halphas, but don’t get in their way. They’ll run right over you, else.
Record Rating: 5/10 | Label: Heidens Hart | Web: Official Band Site
Release Date: 2 February 2024
- The cover art can’t hide its origins. Just sayin’. -Ed.-↩
- A perfect storm of a marine disaster, akin to the Wasa or the Titanic. Try Wikipedia for more. | White Ship.-↩